Grant funds were made available through the Texas Department of Agriculture’s County Hog Abatement Matching Program (CHAMP), which supports the development of low-cost, high-return, regionally-coordinated programs that leverage local resources to combat the growing feral hog population in Texas.

Bell County in partnership with Coryell, Falls, Hamilton and Milam counties was awarded $25,000 to support abatement efforts. Additionally, $30,000 was awarded to a partnership between Caldwell and Hays counties.

“The feral hog population has exploded in the last 20 years, costing Texans untold millions of dollars,” Staples says. “Our ability to control this will depend on two primary factors. First, our efforts must be coordinated across all public entities and private landowners. Second, we must focus on the most low-cost, high-return methods when investing limited taxpayer dollars into these efforts. CHAMP grants accomplish both of these by building on the successes of recent initiatives.”

Texas is home to the largest feral hog population in the United States with nearly 2.6 million feral hogs causing an estimated $500 million in damage in rural and urban Texas each year. CHAMP is designed to encourage counties across Texas to create regional partnerships with other counties, local governments, businesses, landowners and associations to reduce the feral hog population and the damage caused by these pests.

Additional information on the feral hog abatement program is available here.